The Love of Kitties
by BliZZarD-X115
Summary: Complete! LeeXOC When a BIOVOLT escapee looses her memory, she ends up in the care of the White Tigers. How will her love life be affected when she realises who she is and what danger she is putting her new friends in? Story is better than the title!
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Okay random White Tigers fan-fic...boredom does that. It takes place about 2-3 months before 1st season Beyblade.

I'm not sure whether Lee and Mariah are siblings, but in this fic they are. I've heard they are. shrugs

Sorry if anyone's out of character...I don't have White Tiger episodes to study.

And after dis-claimers and whatnot, onto the fic!

Translations

Xin - Belief

Ai – Love

Mei – Beauty

Couplings

Xin x Lee

Xin (c) Me

Story (c) Me

White Tigers and other Beyblade characters (c) Beyblade (duh)

Btw, the first Chapter contains the Prologue and Chapter 1. Read and review!

Prologue: 1st escape.

The girl was running, fast and trying to escape. She'd gotten this far, so why get caught now? Her long blue hair flew out behind her, coming lose from the braid it was in. Her legs ached, but she had to keep moving.

Shouts in Russian were behind her, and getting closer. She automatically translated them in her mind into English: "Don't let her escape! She's too important to just let go! Slow her down, but don't kill her!" There was a lot of emphasis on that "don't".

The forest she ran through gave way to mountains. They were silhouetted against the night. She knew her best chance of escape lay there. She climbed as fast as she could, but knew she was an open target to those below.

She came to a ledge, and realized she could climb neither up nor down. She looked around, panicked, as her pursuers came into view below. They had guns, she noticed grimly. They wouldn't kill her, but an injury would mean no more chance at escape.

"I'd rather die than go back there", she muttered as she followed the ledge as far as she could. There was a steep drop in front of her and guns behind. After a moment's consideration, she chose the ledge.

"May my death be swift and--" she was cut off by a bullet flying by her ear.

More shouts that translated to: "Don't kill her, damn it! Aim lower!" Not a good sign.

"I will not die by your hands nor be made your prisoner!" The girl shouted to her pursuers.

"You haven't a choice!" Came the only reply.

"I have death by my own means!" She yelled back. And then, she turned, and jumped.

Chapter 1: Training in the valley

"Hurry up Kevin! You're too lazy this morning!" Mariah yelled teasingly to a green-haired, short, squirrel-resembling boy.

"Is it my fault everyone has longer legs than me?" Kevin replied in annoyance.

"This isn't the time for a pointless argument. We have training to do, since Rei left." Lee, obviously the leader, pointed out irritably. He still didn't like that his best friend had left the team without warning, and what he didn't understand annoyed him.

"Oh, Lee, did you have to bring that up? It's too nice a day to be upset! Save the mourning for a more depressing day", Mariah replied, trying to cover up her own hurt. You grow up with someone and then they just leave. Not a good topic to think on.

Gary, either to change the topic, or because he always was, said, "I'm hungry."

"Gary! You just ate!" Mariah yelled.

"Still hungry", came his reply.

"Oh yeah, lots of work to do", Lee muttered.

"And you're calling me slow? Quit yapping at one another and hurry up!" Kevin called from up ahead.

They continued on to the surrounding mountains, where they had always trained and probably always would. They were surprisingly dry this time of year (which was late spring), and over due for rain. It was considerably warmer than normal though, which made the weather worth going out in.

They passed a trail, which led to a ledge and abruptly stopped. Not one they should go on, but...

"Lee can I stop and look at the view, please?" Mariah asked happily.

After a moment of her begging look, Lee gave in. "Go ahead, but don't take to long." He shook his head. Mariah needed to calm down.

Lee was about to call her back when Mariah let out a startled yell. "Lee there's an injured girl down there! She's about three ledges below this ledge. Come and look!" She sounded worried.

Kevin darted up first. "Why would someone be down there and injured? Unless she was pushed or somethin'..."

Lee and Gary reached the ledge at about the same time. They stared in shock for a moment before anyone decided to speak.

"Is she even alive?" Gary asked quietly. Mariah stood there shaking, not saying a word.

"Not sure, but we can't reach her from up here. And if she is, she's lucky; she fell a good twenty feet." Lee said dryly.

Still shaking, Mariah yelled, "We have to see, don't we? We...we should help her!"

The rest of the White Tigers nodded, and silently headed for the trail leading to the ledge where the girl lay unconscious. No one wanted to break the stunned silence.

Walking through the forested area, they had to take a long way around to reach that ledge. There was only one trail to it. Only one way, unless you fell...

After about fifteen minutes, the group came out of the forest and onto the trail to the ledge. Only a five minute walk to find out the girls fate. If she were dead, there'd be nothing to write on her tombstone...Not something to think on.

The group came out onto the ledge, and looked at the injured girl silently. Her hair was long and Perry winkle blue (A/N: like those flowers.), and matted with blood. Her clothes were ripped and stained beyond recognition. They might once have been a t-shirt and jeans, but who could tell? Her face was a mass of cuts, but there was something else on it as well. Her left arm was lying at an odd angle and it was hard to tell whether she was breathing. The backpack strapped to her back had two or three circular holes in it—bullet holes? —And was about to fall apart.

There was a red ribbon lying in tatters near her head. It was hard to tell she was breathing.

"What could have happened to her? She'll be okay right?" Mariah said, panicked as she ran over to the girl's body. She let out a relieved sigh. "She's still breathing. We have to help her, she can't have been in good circumstances to come to this." Tears had started to stream down her face. "Please Lee? We-we can't leave her!"

Lee walked slowly to his younger sister and the blue haired girl. In all truth, he couldn't leave her to die or upset Mariah by doing so. He had a very strong sense of honor. And to leave an injured person without trying to help would most definitely go against it.

"We have to be careful about moving her. She seems to have a broken arm. We should check for other injuries, before doing anything." Lee hoped he had made a good decision. But as he and his team checked for other injuries, he was sure he was the only one who noticed the bullet holes in her backpack.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Lost but awake

The girl was just coming to her senses in the house that Lee, Mariah and their Grandfather shared. It had been a good ten hours since she was found.

She sat up, and pain shot through her head. She stopped her self just short of letting out a yell. Why was it important not to show pain? She found herself wondering. There was nothing in her memory, nothing that said who she was or where she came from. She just knew it was important not to let people know how she felt. Why, was beyond her, though.

Her left arm was in a splint, and bandages covered her bruised body.

"Lee she's awake!" A high-pitched voice said excitedly.

"Mariah, tone it down, her head probably hurts!" Said another voice, which the girl saw the owner of. A short boy with green hair and a troublesome look in his eye. He resembled a squirrel or a monkey.

"What happened? Why do I hurt so much? How did I get here?" The girl felt scared of these people. People bothered her. She couldn't say why, but they did.

"We were hoping you could tell us some of that", a deeper voice said to her. She tried to see where it came from but her vision went blurry. She felt like crying, but somehow knew she never had tears to cry with.

"I ...I don't know. I don't remember anything at all. I'm surprised I can speak. I'm surprised that I know the meaning of what I'm saying." She shook her head, but the pain only worsened.

She saw the boy with the deeper voice nod as her vision un-blurred itself. He had long dark black-green hair tied with a white ribbon. He was wearing a dark green vest and pants of the same colour. His for-arms and lower legs were wrapped in white bandage-like cloths.

She continued her look around the room. Her eyes fell on the only other girl, who had pink hair tied in a pink ribbon and wore a white sleeveless shirt with pink around the colour and shoulders. She had matching white pants with a thin line of pink around the bottom of both pant legs. There was a pink sweater tied around her waist. She had yellow eyes and reminded the girl of either a cat or a bunny.

The final person in the room was by far the widest and tallest. He had a tuft of black hair in an otherwise bald/shaved head, and wore green over-alls. He had small purple eyes and what seemed to be a permanent smile. He reminded the injured girl of a bear.

"Where am I?" The girl asked trying to remember anything that would come. A name, an age, a place, someone, something... There was nothing.

"White Tiger village. It's known to very few and isn't on many maps. We found you in the mountains..." the girl's—she'd been called Mariah? — Voice trailed off.

"Can you remember anything at all?" Asked the boy in the vest. His eyes were a red-brown and very cat-like. They studied the girl, waiting.

"I—I don't know. There's nothing to—What's this?" She had pulled an orange, red and black top-like thing from her pocket. It had been digging into her leg. There was a picture of a leopard on the top; it was sitting lazily on a tree branch one of it's four fire covered paws hanging lazily, while it's fire tipped tail did the same.

"A Beyblade. A leopard...let me see that", Lee said suddenly.

She knew for unknown reasons not to let anyone touch it. She pulled it away possessively and held it out of his grasp. "I can't. No one but me can touch her." How'd she know it was a her?

"Didn't a leopard Bit-beast go missing about twenty years ago?" asked Mariah.

Lee nodded. "But how did Spit-fire Leopard come to her?"

"Is that her name? Yes, it sounds right", the girl was still scared of losing the Beyblade to these people.

As she examined the Blade, she saw something odd, flashes of memory that made her head hurt more. A lab, pain, something in her arm, a fire running... She scrunched her eyes shut tight and tried not to scream. Her head hurt so much...

The group turned to her and saw her pained expression. "Are you all right?" asked Mariah gently, but with worry.

"No! There's a lab and him. I hate him. There was a fire and ...And I don't know why but that's all I can remember." She looked up, scared, and as if she'd been crying, but there were no tears. "I'm sorry, but it just came to me looking at my anamachara." A bitter smile was on her face.

"Your anama-what?" asked the green haired boy confusedly.

"Anamachara, soul-friend. I know I've always called her that." She gave a half-hearted shrug. "I know more about her than myself."

"Well, I guess introductions are in order for the rest of us. I'm Mariah, that's Lee", I'd guessed right, the one in the vest, "that's Kevin", the short one with green hair, "and that's Gary" she finished, pointing at the big one with the small pretty purple eyes.

"I'm...I don't know. Sorry to say, but thanks for helping me." What else was there to say?

"How about we give you a name until you remember yours?" Mariah asked excitedly. "How about... Mei?"

"Mariah, that's lame", Kevin said, annoyed. "Who'd want to be called 'beauty' anyways?"

"And you suggest...?" Mariah shot back.

"Certainly not Mei or, because you are obviously thinking it Ai!" Kevin retorted.

"What's wrong with either of them?"

"They're not names!" Kevin said. They seemed to argue a lot.

"Xin." Lee said simply. "It suits her best. She can always choose."

"I like Xin. Until I regain my own name, call me that please", the girl, now called Xin said quietly.

"You can stay here until you feel better, Xin. We'll take care of you", Mariah said reassuringly.

"Thank you. In that case, may I sleep again? Or should I move or...?" Xin asked.

"We have you in a guest bed, so don't worry about it. Till tomorrow everyone." With a smile, Mariah hurried everyone out of the room.

Xin tried to roll over, remembered her broken arm, and lay quietly until she fell asleep.

As the door closed behind the White Tigers, Kevin said quietly, "I don't mind her. Too bad about her memory though. I wonder if she'll remember how to Beyblade? And if she's good. If she'll stay we can always invite her to the team."

"We'll see when she's better. You rush things too much Kevin", Lee replied.

Mariah yawned. "Well, I'm going to get some rest. See you guys tomorrow."


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Here's chapter 3 guys! Not many reviews so far, so can you tell people about the fic if you like it? Thank you!

Someone asked how to pronounce Xin's name, and it's pronounced "Zin" so everyone knows! Thanks for all the reviews so far! R&R please!

Chapter 3: On the mountain side

Xin accompanied her friends to see where they trained and what she could learn. It was better than sitting around doing nothing. They were going into the mountains surrounding the village.

As they passed a trail that led to a ledge with an obvious dead-end. Xin shivered for no reason. Awake or dreaming, the fragments of memories haunted her. The sunlight was deceiving, for she was terrified of her fragmented past.

As she watched the trail another fragment made itself known to her. Darkness, the cover of night. A low cliff, a ledge. Standing waiting for something. There were bullets, shouts, and she had to go...somewhere. She couldn't possibly stay there, so she turned and...

Mariah had turned to tell Xin to hurry, but she saw the girl with her head in her hands, sobbing quietly. "Are you okay? What is it?"

Xin shook her head furiously, and looked up. "No ...I ...no. I'll tell you when I understand." As she looked around she realized Lee was at her side giving her a sympathetic look.

"We found you near here. It must be triggering something", he said gently.

"Maybe she just needs to eat. She didn't eat yesterday", Gary said with a shrug.

"Is that all you think of?" Mariah scolded.

"Is that a problem?" asked Gary.

"Yes!" Mariah and Kevin replied in exasperation.

Shooting the others an annoyed look and pulling Xin away, Lee continued the climb towards their favorite training spot.

They reached a large ledge near the top of one of the mountains. The view of the forest and village below was beautiful, if you didn't fear heights. There was a river running by it, all the way down the mountain it seemed, and a bit of grass and a couple small trees. There was a small Bey-stadium built in to the hard dirt ground.

That morning Xin had been given some clothing from Mariah. She wore a sleeveless blue shirt with an oriental-collar, and simple black pants that looked as if they'd never been worn. Her face had been washed clean and as she had looked in the mirror she knew there should be something on it, but not what.

She had tied her hair back into two braids, using ribbons also given by Mariah.

Her arm didn't hurt anymore, but the others agreed that it should be rested, in case it was worse than a sprain.

"Do you remember anything about Bey-battling?" Asked Lee. He was very good at making Xin jump out of her thoughts.

"No, but maybe seeing shall help. It seems to work so far", Xin clenched her fist over Spit-fire Leopard. She had to regain who she was. An odd determination came over her.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Learning to battle

Lee and Mariah had agreed to face off first. Mariah pushed her ripcord into a bright pink launcher and attached a purple-pink Beyblade. Lee put his black launcher onto a mostly black, with some purple and yellow Blade. Kevin stood at the ringside waiting.

"Ready?" he asked.

"Yep!" Mariah replied enthusiastic as ever.

Lee only nodded and grunted.

"Three, two, one go!" Kevin yelled, and jumped away from the Bey-stadium.

The two blades were released from their launchers, and landed and smashed against one another. Neither lost momentum or wobbled. Xin watched in fascination, and her mind began to analyze the two fighting in front of her. The pink blade had more speed and could tough out a fight longest. The black blade had more defense and attack power. It would be a close battle.

How do I know that? Xin wondered.

Mariah attacked first, which Xin saw was to her dis-advantage. "Scratch attack, Galux!"

Lee saw Mariah's dis-advantage as well. "Dodge her Galeon, and counter with Dark Lightning!"

Mariah's Galux was hit hard, but she wasn't out yet. She smirked triumphantly.

"Smiling through the pain of defeat?" Taunted Lee.

"Nope. You failed to notice my up-grade. Galux now has a mirror rimmed defense ring. And since lightning is just light...Send it back Galux!"

Galeon didn't have time to dodge and was knocked out of the ring by it's own attack.

"How did you figure that out?" Lee asked. He was shocked at such an easy defeat from his sister's hands.

"Simple. Mirrors can reflect light. So can lightning." She gave him a cat-like grin, and winked. "And that my friends, is how to bring down a lion with too much pride."

Kevin grinned and tried to hide it. Xin smiled and blinked.

"Can I try?" she asked quietly.

"Wait until you're sure your arm is okay, then we'll see", Lee replied. He was still trying to get over Mariah's win.

The day was spent with the White Tigers working out new moves and strategies, with Xin's occasional input. She was content to sit and watch and feel a part of something. She could come to understand these people quite easily. She was safe here, in this unknown corner of the world. Safety was an odd but pleasant feeling. Then why was it that she knew it wouldn't last?


	5. Chapter 5

A/N : Because Kyogue wants me to up-date so much, here's another chapter! She's my biggest fan I think. Thanks for the support The story is completely written, I'm just lazy about posting things! So R&R folks!

Chapter 5: A torrent of nightmares

Asleep in her room, Xin was being tormented by the creatures that controlled her dreams. The nightmares were horrible and nothing made sense. Her dreams continually shifted, making her get lost further inside herself.

i The labyrinth trapped her. You couldn't climb the walls, nor dig beneath them. You had to wander through. Hoping for anything was a danger in this place; the opposite would appear, and hurt you worse than you imagined possible. Pain knew no limits.

She had had this dream before, but it was worse now, because it could take advantage of her pain and memory loss.

She wandered through, tired, and helpless. There was no one there but her; she knew that was different than normal.

Chains came out of the ground in front of her, encircled her arms, legs and neck.

"You cannot escape Ri-" /i 

Everything swirled, and shifted and became worse.

i There was a forest and shouts. Tired, but still she ran. She ran fast, had to get away. There was worry of being caught, but by /i who? i 

A mountain range ahead. She began to climb, knowing she was an open target. Had to lose them, couldn't be brought back. Too much to lose by being captured.

Shouts that she almost understood, but didn't were being yelled behind her. She came to a ledge and ran along it quickly. Bullets flew by, but she ignored them. There was a dead end. She was trapped. She couldn't be caught, so she turned to -- /i 

It shifted again. From bad to worse it would go...

i A lab. Giant tubes where DNA was being altered, in both humans and anamacharas. People she knew, but she can't allow herself to care. They'd be different when it was all done. Hiding, she won't be caught, she won't—

"So there you are." A voice—she knew she hated that voice--snapped at her. Dark laughter assaulted her. "Time to pay for your misbehavior."

Alarms rang, fire alarms. Panic broke out among the lab workers ran from their work. She broke free of him and ran for it.

"Get back here--" /i 


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Yay Lee X Xin moment to come! Gods, I'm hyper... But anyways. Chapter 6, R&R please and thank you! .

Chapter 6: A midnight talk

Xin awoke, scared. She needed air. She got out of bed and crept as silently as possible down the hall. She came outside and stood staring at the stars. She was beginning to relax, when she heard footsteps behind her. Xin turned to see who it was.

"Couldn't sleep either?" Lee asked companionably.

Xin shook her head, her long pale blue hair falling in gentle waves as she did so. "I was, but the nightmares woke me."

Lee nodded. "When we brought you here, and you were unconscious, you'd yell in your sleep. From what I gather", he paused and closed the space between them. He put an arm around the small of her back before continuing. "There's somewhere you don't want to be, and you ran away, but you don't know where."

Blushing, Xin tried to continue the conversation normally. "I think all the nightmares, dreams and flash backs will piece together to help me remember something. I hope they do. And if they don't, then ... I'm not sure what." She shrugged simply. "Whatever will be, will be. I heard that somewhere."

"If it doesn't come back, you can stay with us and continue being Xin. Mariah wants another female teammate and..." his voice trailed off.

"And what?" Xin asked simply.

"I don't want you to leave either", came the quiet reply.

Xin felt her face redden and was glad of the dark; maybe Lee couldn't see.

"I'd like to stay as much as figure out who I am. But...what if I don't normally act this way? What if I'm different when I figure out who I am? What if you guys...Hate me?" Xin finished in a small voice. Something inside said she most definitely didn't act this way, ever. She ignored it.

"Don't worry, you can't be too much different. And if you are, we'll adjust. But it hasn't happened yet, so there's no use worrying." Lee was being oddly...Nice. And gentle.

"Thanks. I'll try not to worry, but...I guess I think too much", she replied feeling shy.

"You seem to", he said and gently pulled Xin to face him. He leaned closer to her and kissed her gently.

After a moment, they broke away and Xin immediately found interest in the ground. Lee still had his arms around her, and she felt oddly safe. She stood there for a long while before she went inside.


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: Most of you will read this and go "Why did Kai show up?" Because Xin/Rianu (identity revelations!) is old friends with Kai. And it was either him or Tala, and since I know Kai's personality better, I chose Kai. You'll understand in a moment R&R please!

Chapter 7: Memory's messenger

Time goes by when people are happy. A month had passed like a minute. And Xin was happy with the White Tigers. She felt like she had always been there. She had friends, and ... Well, someone who felt more than that. Other than her memory, she had nothing she wanted.

Her arm had healed perfectly, and she was by far one of the best Beybladers in the area. She had been invited to become a member of the White Tigers. She was happy. But even though she couldn't ask for more, the sense of impending miss-fortune deepened.

Xin was wandering through the forest towards the waterfall. She liked the view, but the water bothered her. She had learned her way around quickly, and was now allowed to go where she wanted, unescorted.

She sat near to the river, yet away from the water. She watched it flow by her, over rocks and around them. For the moment Xin was content.

A noise from behind her caught her attention. "Who's there?" she asked automatically.

"My name is of no importance right now," came the reply from an unfamiliar boy who stepped from the forest. He wore a black shirt, blue jeans, a white scarf and blue face-paint on his face. He had two-toned blue hair, and eyes the colour of dried blood.

"Why have you come here?" Xin asked. She was alone, and wary of those she didn't know. Alone. A familiar feeling some how.

"I was sent to bring you back, but I'd prefer to warn you about others pursuing you", he said. His voice was cold, but his eyes were anxious.

"How did you find me?" Xin demanded.

"There's a tracker in your arm, you know that Rianu", came a slightly confused reply.

"Is th-that who I am?" she asked quietly. "Do I...Know you?"

"That's your name. We don't know each other well, but you need warning. You can't go back there at any cost", the boy said fiercely.

"Go where? I don't know anything about what happened or who I am or where I came from. I'm very confused and ...I don't know you. How can I trust you?" she was panicking and looked on the verge of running.

"Damned idiots", he muttered. "Knew they'd cause something like this." He pulled out a few pieces of paper from a large jean pocket. "Your profile and some things you've said to your sister that others managed to get a hold of."

Xin—Rianu? —Took the papers warily. "I have a sister?" She read them over, starting with a profile. It read:

Name: Rianu Kyris Nightwitch

Age: 13

Birth date: March 28th

Description: About 5'8" tall, long blue-purple hair, dark purple eyes, sharp pupils, red face paint.

Weapons of choice: Archery set, daggers, pyro-kinetic abilities, her Beyblade, or her own hands and feet.

Bit-beast: Spit-fire Leopard

She couldn't read anymore; the images were coming back to fast to be understood, but she knew them, recognized them. The anger, the hate, and the utter coldness were back.

She read the other papers through quickly, remembered them, knew they're meaning.

"Gods, how could this all have left me? Kai, when will they be here? How much time do I have?" Rianu demanded. Those eyes flashed purple fire.

He smirked triumphantly. Triumphant over what, Rianu was unsure. "Two or three days at most. Get as far from here as possible. Something screwed up the tracker and they thought you had died, but it didn't last. If you can, remove it or block it."

Rianu looked at him, all annoyed and indignant. "And where do you propose I go to? And how do you expect me to get there? And block the bloody tracker? I might manage that, in time."

"I have no answers, as you should know. You are the genius, remember?" He shot back. He could be so impossible!

"In that case, I've wasted enough time. I need to go and devise a way to be on the other side of the continent by tomorrow. Your warning is appreciated." Rianu turned to leave.

"You left this at BIOVOLT", Kai said, and waited for her to turn. Which she did, and raised an eyebrow questioningly. He tossed her a silver chain with a pentacle hanging from it.

She caught it and fastened it around her neck. "This means a lot to me, thank you. I should never have lost it." With that, she turned and ran through the woods, her mind racing almost as fast as her legs.

As he watched her run through the woods, Kai looked down at the device that locked onto the tracker's signal.

"And now to destroy this thing, and give her a fair chance", he said to himself. Without a second thought, he pitched the device into the river and watched as it short-circuited with sparks flying everywhere.

"And now, to make this look as if I had nothing to do with it", he said as he walked deeper into the woods.


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: Okay, chapter 8 and the epilogue folks! I hope you enjoyed this fic and will read other things I may write. If you want to look at my artwork, my name is Rianu55 on Deviantart, so just do a google search with that info! R&R one last time!

Chapter 8: Explanations and another escape

"Have you seen Xin? She's going to be late for dinner", Mariah whined worriedly.

"I think she went to the forest again. If she's not training or with Lee", Kevin smirked, "then she's in the woods."

"You shouldn't tease them Kevin", Mariah scolded. "It's really quite cute how close they've become."

"Right", Kevin said rolling his eyes. After a moment he added, "Lee's not here either. What does that say?"

"Lee's on a trip with Grandfather and you know it you little brat!" She snapped waving a cooking spoon at Kevin as if she were going to hit him with it. Kevin jumped out of her reach and stuck out his tongue.

Xin walked through the doors quietly. She was deep in thought, but she seemed different somehow.

"Are you alright Xin?" Mariah asked.

"Not Xin, not anymore. Rianu", she said with a bitter smile.

"You've remembered things haven't you?" Mariah asked sadly. "And now you're going to leave us."

Rianu nodded. "I'm in danger and by staying here, I endanger all of you. It's best if I leave. Xin was someone I'm normally not."

The room was silent for a while. Everyone was thinking on this, seeming to wonder: why now?

"You have to leave without dinner?" Gary asked. Mariah looked like she might hit him with her spoon, instead of Kevin.

"Sorry, but I can't waste a moment. I thank you all for your hospitality and friendship", Rianu looked about her, as if searching for something. "I—I had ... Other things with me when you found me."

Mariah and Kevin shared worried looks. After a moment, Kevin went to a closet and pulled out a blue backpack with three bullet holes in it.

"Lee didn't want to see you tormented worse by half-memories and nightmares, so...We all agreed to hide it. Maybe, we just wanted you to stay as long as possible. Forgive our selfishness", Mariah said bitterly.

Rianu took it wordlessly. "I have to leave. It's not safe for anyone to be around me." No emotion on her face, not even in her eyes.

"You're a lot colder now", Kevin said quietly.

"One day, you'll know what I've been through, and then you'll understand. Until then, I'm sorry." Came the reply that made a blizzard seem warm.

"Lee will be angry that you left without waiting for him", Kevin pointed out.

That seemed to get her, but she recovered quickly. "I can't wait. I—I'll miss him, but I can't wait." She paused and again, that bitter smile. "He likes Xin, not Rianu. Rianu doesn't get on well with people, but Xin does."

"So that's it then. No explanation, no reasons, no anything", Mariah said bitterly.

"If we meet again I'll explain, I swear on my hope of reincarnation and shelter by the Goddess' love. I promise."

Rianu pulled her backpack onto her back and asked quietly, "Where's the nearest airport?"

"About thirty kilometers east", Kevin replied. "Why?"

"I'll be gone before mid-night in that case. May we meet again in peace and better circumstances", Rianu waved and turned at a run towards the door and out into the night.

The White Tigers sat quietly for a while after they watched their friend vanish in the night. No one wanted to break the silence.

"Lee won't take this well. I mean, first his best friend and now..." Kevin's voice trailed off.

"You're right." Mariah sighed. "They'll meet again though."

"I hope." Was her only reply.

Epilogue: No happy endings; this is only a beginning

Rianu wandered the fields near her one-time home. She hadn't lived here since she was seven. It was summer here in Canada, and warmer than normal. June was a nice month. It was a month since she had left the White Tigers behind in China. She tried not to think of them.

She hated the part of her that had been Xin; she had been like a foolish child. She hated that feeling.

She looked at the farmhouse and knew without seeing that her parents still resided there. She couldn't go home, so why did she come here?

I'm losing it, Rianu thought. She had been pretty far in the past eight months though. She smirked at that. Eight months. No one escaped BIOVOLT that long. Most certainly not a thirteen-year-old girl. She almost smiled, but not quite.

A noise got her attention from the other side of the field. She spun around, and couldn't see anyone. But she knew people were there.

Someone stood up, holding a gun. "Oh bloody hell", Rianu muttered. There were others; she was surrounded.

Russian shouts which translated to: "Surrender and we won't bring you back by force" and the like were heard.

"Yeah right", Rianu muttered. "I'll die first."

The sounds of gunshot came from the circle around her, and one hit her. That was when she realized that it wasn't bullets being shot at her, it was tranquilizer darts.

"After eight months, I'm caught at last..." her voice trailed off as she fainted.

And no one in her old house seemed to notice the commotion outside.


End file.
